2013 Audi A5

With the new V6, the 2013 Audi S5 accelerates as quickly as last year's V8 version and gets better fuel mileage. But the game isn't over for the V8: The V8 stays on top of the performance pile by bumping itself to 450 horsepower for use in the 2013 Audi RS5.

Audi has the engine line down. The 2013 Audi A5 comes with the venerable silky 211-horsepower 2.0-liter turbocharged engine, which has long been the king of four-cylinder engines. While the 246-horsepower BMW, 247-horsepower Ford, and 220-horsepower Hyundai, all 2.0-liter turbo fours, have been letting Audi know the reign is over, Audi's 2.0 is still a great base engine for the A5.

And Audi quattro all-wheel drive is at the top of its class, adept and experienced in snow, mud and wet or icy streets. It seems a same to buy an Audi with front-wheel drive and miss out on quattro.

It's hard to find a direct statistical competitor to the four-seat A5 or S5, considered a grand touring coupe or cabriolet. The Infiniti G37 Coupe is quite similar, but after that you'll find differences in the number of doors or seats. The Mercedes C-Class or BMW 3 Series coupe or convertible with all-wheel drive (both with 5 seats) might be cross-shopped, or the Nissan Maxima (4 seats, 4 doors). When all is said and done, we'd say the Mercedes C250, if similarly equipped, most closely compares to the Audi A5 in size, powertrain and price. If you were to consider leaving the realm of grand touring to look at cars of a similar size, you'd find a bewildering long list of sedans including Lexus ES, Acura TL, Buick LaCrosse, Hyundai Sonata, Volkswagen Passat, Subaru Legacy, Toyota Avalon, Chrysler 200, Honda Accord, Chevrolet Impala, Ford Fusion, and even the Audi A4. All of them priced lower than the A5.

Worth considering, however, is that Kelley Blue Book announced the 2012 cars with best resale value, and Audi A5 won the luxury class, going away. According to KBB.com, the 2012 A5 is worth 64.7 percent of its new cost after 36 months, and 41 percent of its cost after 60 months. Second place after 60 months was the Mercedes SLK, way down at 34 percent.

The A5 is subtly beautiful. Its clean contours eliminate the need for stylists to tack on character lines as with many other cars. We think Audi is better looking than BMW here.

The A5 and S5 got a facelift for 2013, and it's a lovely job. The grille is rounded at the upper edges and narrowed at the bottom, to make it more shapely and less aggressive. New headlamps are sleek, small, and artful, with available LED running lights tracing a line around their dancing sharp edges.

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